Blog

News

Browse news articles about J-PAL and our affiliated professors, and read our press releases and monthly global and research newsletters. For media inquiries, please email us.

Using Microcredit and Family Planning Services to Increase Contraceptive Use in Ethiopia

Jaikishan Desai
In Ethiopia, researchers tested whether linking microcredit and family planning services could increase contraceptive use more than either program in isolation. Neither the linked program nor the isolated programs had any detectable impact on contraceptive awareness, use, or intention to use.

Increasing Access to Infrastructure and Property Values through Urban Investment in Mexico

Researchers evaluated the impacts of a $68 million infrastructure investment program in Mexico on urban residents’ access to infrastructure, property values, private investment, moving rates, and community cohesion. The study found that access to infrastructure and property values improved in...

The Effects of Kindergarten Classroom on Earnings in the United States

John Friedman
Nathaniel Hilger
Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach
Danny Yagan
Researchers measured the effect of class size, teacher quality, and classroom quality on earnings and other future outcomes for children participating in the Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR) project in Tennessee. The study found that smaller class sizes raised college attendance, more...

The Role of Social Connections in the Delivery of Extension Services and Technology Adoption in Uganda

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test both the impact of BRAC’s extension program on economic outcomes and the role of social incentives in shaping the delivery of the program to farmers. While they found that overall, farmers in villages that received the program had higher...

Improving Measurement of Farmers Skills in Western Kenya

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation in western Kenya to test how farmer participation in agronomic trials impacted their experimentation on their own farms with different input combinations and impacted their use of high-quality inputs, yields, adoption of new crops, and profitability...

The Direct and Indirect Effects of Female Training Interventions in a Traditional Society

Researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to test the impact of a nursing skills training program targeting female youth based in Assiut and Sohag, Egypt, on employment outcomes on the treated group and more importantly, their local social network.

Sensitivity to Interest Rates and Account Ownership Requirements for a Commitment Savings Account in the Philippines

Researchers worked with First Valley Bank in the Philippines to evaluate the impact of varying the interest rate and account ownership requirements on demand for commitment savings accounts. While savings account take-up was 23 percent, neither the interest rates nor the ownership requirements...

Reducing Formalization Costs for Small Businesses in Colombia

Camila Navajas Ahumada
Marcela Meléndez
In the context of a recent government policy that reduced costs of formalization, researchers provided information on the formal entry process through workshops and personalized visits to determine the impacts of information on firms’ decision to formalize.